Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-10-09
It'll the War-drum thrObs no longer
And tho battle-fiaes are furlsd,
In the Parliament Of Man,
Tho Federation OF the wOrld,r
Explaining the Laymen'S Move.
ment tO the Philadelphia Bap-

| Explaining the Laymen's Move.
ment 40 the Philadelphia Bap.
Ttsts.
The Eccniag Telegram and other
Philadelphia papers, in reporting the
proceedings of the one hundred and
eightieth annual session of the Phia.
delplia Baptist Association, give spe-
cial prominence to DR.. a. f. Dickin-
| sons speech before that venerable body
of Baptists on "The Virginia Lay
mems Movement.
DIR. Dickinson began by giving an
account OF the recent meetings of the
Virginia Baptist associations and the
great prominence given by them to de
veloping more fully the power of the
pew. He said that it had bean proven
that in raising money for religions pur-
poses and in many other ways laymen
can be made far more efficient than
they have heretofore been. "Yester-
day, he said, "the corresponding secre-
taryof State Missions of the Baptist
State Convention of New York said to
me that lie had been more prospered
this year than last year, and that
he hoped to be able to report at
the meeting Of his convention
next month $1,000 given during the
year by the Baptists of New York State
TO the State Mission Board. ! did not
tell him, for | did not wish to hurt his
feelings, that the Baptists of Old Vir-
ginia will raise this year at least 9l2, 900
for State missions. If any of you
doubt it come to Our State anniversa-
ries i'll Lynchburg the 10th OF Novem-
Der and see for yourselves. This board
and all our other boards are champiOned
10y laymen, and we are proving that
many n quiet man who had not before
been heard of outside Of his own
local church can speak and beg about
rs well as the average preacher If you
are not expecting much OF people they
are not likely TO do much, but il you
heap up the burdens upon them you
will find that the more they do the more
they can do and the greater their interest
and joyin the work. THERE'S one thing
that Christian workers must consider,
and that is that we are not going fast
enough. We are dragging along in
the old rlits, and very slowly at that.
If we are going to convert the world it
is true that every man and every wo
man in our churches should attempt to
do ten times rs mnch as they are now
doing. We must stop looking for the
smallest piece we have in our purses to
throw int tho basket and put in the
biggest piece. We must step fretting
with the preachers about not doing
more and do far more ourselves. Ia
stead of one hundred Baptist churches
in Philadelphia you can have double
that number, and for every Baptist
here to-day you can have fifty Blptists
walking these streets; aud instead OF
three million Bsptsts in the United
States We can have six millions. All
that is needed is the development Of
the dormant energies of the Baptist
pew of the country"
At the close of DR.. Dickinson's adj
dress, which the Bulletin says was in
terspeTsed with illustrations drawn from
the average Virginia church and Vir-
einia deacon, which elected great APP
plause, the moderator called upon Rev.
MIR. Fiser to lead the association in
prayer. The reverend gentleman pray |
ed most earnestly that this laymen's |
might spread over the whole !
country, and do everywhere what 1t is
doing in Virginia.